On Covid-19 pandemic and other mini-pandemics ravaging Tanzania

I have a confession to make. For the first time in more that four decades, I have not imbibed any ‘sharbat al haram’ for three weeks now. For those who are not conversant with ‘Swahili exotica, ‘sharbat’ here simply means an alcoholic drink.

Naturally it was not a voluntary decision. It was simply on account of some serious malfunction of my body.

The malfunction began as an irritation on my throat, followed by a dry cough - and then a serious cough with a lot of sputum being pumped out of my lungs. I did not worry much, as these things are considered common.

But then my chest began acting awkwardly, followed by abnormal pains in the area. And I was becoming weaker and weaker. I could not walk more than ten steps without stopping and taking a ‘breather.’

That was when I realised I was in serious trouble - and that, perhaps, I was on the verge of becoming another death statistic in the current pandemic of ‘breathing complications...’ Or, as many people know it: ‘corona.’ And my advanced age was not helping.

Naturally, I went online - and found some quasi-official medical advice which entailed taking a litre of hot water and blending it with some 10-15 pebbles of garlic, 2 lemons, one onion, 4 finger-sized pieces of ginger and 5 pieces of African birds-eye chili (pilipili kichaa). And then letting the mixture to cool and then drinking two (2) spoons-full every four hours.

I religiously followed the regime for three days. There was some slight relief but I was still far from full recovery. That was when I decided to visit a nearby hospital, the Ikelu St. Thomas Hospital, a few kilometres south-east of Makambako Town in Njombe Region.

After some chest x-rays and blood testing, the results showed that my lungs were nowhere near perfect. “Are you ready to receive the bad news?” asked the young doctor. “Yes. And that is why I am here,” I replied.

To cut a long story short, I am presently on a 14-day dosage of eight different pills. And, actually, I almost back to my normal breathing routine and energy. Pray for me.

The other day, I was talking about my scary health episode to one of the new district governors in the region. He felt sorry for me - but lamented the looming bigger community health tragedy which has been left to fester because, presently, all energies are directed at taming the Covid-19 pandemic.

The other day, the governor told me, he was officially visiting some village within his district when, before reaching it, he came across a large crowd gathered at one settlement. Was it the village he was supposed to visit? No!

So he stopped and enquired on what was going on. “We are waiting for our rations,” the villagers responded. He wondered whether it was seeds or fertilizer rations they were patiently waiting for - only to learn later that the rations were actually monthly doses for people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLWH).

Back at the office, he consulted his health-care experts who confirmed that there, indeed, was a serious ‘HIV pandemic’ in the area. And that, in some villages, the few youth who were HIV-negative were considered abnormal!

Actually, he was told that birth rates in some parts of the district had dropped to as low as 0.2 percent per annum against the more than four percent in other parts of the country because HIV-positive women are afraid to get pregnant - or are advised not to do so!

It goes without saying that, as the nation seriously focuses in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic causing ‘breathing complications’ - or as many others call it: ‘Corona’ - let us not forget there are still several other mini-pandemics ravaging our communities.

Actually, once I am fully recovered - and, hopefully, back to my ‘sharbat al haram’ regime - I plan to visit and get some more data on this matter concerning mini-pandemics. It seems they are more deadly than the latest (Covid-19) pandemic. Again: pray for me!

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The author is a veteran journalist and communication expert based in Arusha.